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Ask Martha | Sensational succulents

Martha Stewart, New York Times Syndicate;
6:51 a.m. EDT April 4, 2014

Martha Stewart holds a prized dinner-plate aeonium (Aeonium tabuliforme), which should be watered carefully under the head and never touched; fingerprints will mar the smooth, slightly filmy surface.
(Photo:
Matthew Williams
)

You may have heard of some of these plant families. Indeed, you may know all the names, but did you know that they are all classified as succulents?

This is the rather juicy term for a group of plants that are quickly becoming popular with home gardeners because of the ease with which they can be propagated, raised, divided, and even shared with friends and other gardeners. In addition, because most require only small amounts of moisture, little cultivation and pruning, and modest amounts of growing medium, they are excellent varieties to enjoy in even drought-plagued areas and warm or hot climates.

Most of the more familiar types, those we know by their common names - hens and chicks, jade plants, aloes, ice plants — can be easily grown almost anywhere and require little care when established in a garden. But once you’ve been introduced to this amazing array of charming, colorful, funny-looking and interesting plants, you will certainly want to know more, and you may even become an avid collector, as I have.

I began growing succulent wreaths in 1991. Inspired by a friend in California, the gardener Teddy Colbert, I planted mixed varieties of succulents in heart shapes, dome shapes and circle shapes. With bright sunshine, every wreath thrived and burgeoned, colorful textures and beautiful leaf shapes contributing to a very special display.

I became an early adopter, avid proponent and curious collector of every type of succulent I could get my hands on. When I saw, for the first time, an almost-black Aeonium arboreum ‘Atropurpureum,’ I filled my bag with plants to take to my farm.

My recent discovery of a very unusual succulent, a euphorbia that looks like a bunch of dried sticks, has inspired me to start collecting that new family of plants. And the big, flat, complex Aeonium tabuliforme — dinner-plate aeonium — is so compelling that I have several on my dining room table, potted up as ornamentals in flat saucers on beds of granite pebbles.

I am thrilled that there is such an interest in succulents — the Internet abounds with nurseries and growers who specialize in these striking plants, which, by the way, can travel well as plants (with roots), or just as leaves that can be rooted easily. I find that succulents are great planted singly in small pots or saucers, as well as in groups of one variety or many. Large aloes and agaves thrive in containers on sunny terraces or walls, or beside pools. Window boxes filled with echeveria and sedum can be striking.

Succulents normally grow in arid regions, and the reason their flesh is so “plump” is that they store needed moisture in their leaves, stems and even roots. Large-headed succulents should be watered extra-carefully under their heads, as too much water can cause rotting in the center of the rosette. And many succulents have leaves that mark easily, so it is advisable to handle them carefully and leave no fingerprints!

How to propagate succulents

• Break off leaves from a small branch, exposing a short stem. Dry, or “callus,” both stem and leaves for several days before rooting.

• Mix equal parts sand, perlite and vermiculite; water well and use to fill paper-towel-lined seed flats.

• Push the stems or ends of the leaves into the mixture, and tamp around them to set them in place.

• Water and keep the succulents moist in a sunny spot. Watch for new growth in four to six weeks, then repot.